After the closure of the city’s largest employer, the city of Kannapolis launched the Kannapolis Downtown Revitalization Plan—an ambitious initiative to purchase the entire downtown through private and public partnerships. The roughly 50-acre site spans eight blocks of buildings. The city chose a sports and entertainment venue as the centerpiece to stimulate the growth of restaurant, retail and residential spaces. Extensive infrastructure and streetscape improvements were also required, including the replacement of aging and undersized utilities such as water, sewer/stormwater and electricity to prepare for the surrounding development. The new unique streetscape serves as an urban park, with green spaces for activities such as concerts, arts, recreation, classes and outdoor dining.

Challenges encountered during construction included insufficient subsurface conditions for sports lighting and record rainfall, both of which the team was able to overcome and stay within the established budget and schedule.